Potipherah

Joseph and Asenath together on this image in Berlin. Man depicted close to them may be Potiphera.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Potiphera (/pɒˈtɪfərə/, Hebrew: פּוֹטִי פֶרַע, romanized: Poṭi-p̄eraʿ‍) was a priest of the ancient Egyptian town of On,^[1] mentioned in the Genesis 41:45 and 41:50. He was the father of Asenath, who was given to Joseph as his wife by the Pharaoh, (41:45) and who bore Joseph two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim.^[2]

His name means "he whom Ra has given".^[3]

Biblical source

Pharaoh then gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him for a wife Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On. Thus Joseph emerged in charge of the land of Egypt.

— Genesis 41:45

Theories

It has been noted that Potipherah served as a priest in Ra's most important cult center.^[3] A Jewish legend makes him the same person as Potiphar, whose wife^[4] was in love with Joseph and whose false accusation got him thrown in prison.

References

^ The Open court, Volume 27. Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress).
^ 41:50
^ ^a ^b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Legends of Old Testament characters from the Talmud and other sources by Sabine Baring-Gould

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

[1] The Open court, Volume 27. Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress).

[2] 41:50

[:0-3] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[4] Legends of Old Testament characters from the Talmud and other sources by Sabine Baring-Gould

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Potipherah

Biblical source

Theories

References

Navigation menu

Search